LAREDO, Texas — The 56-year-old Mexican man who died on Saturday (October 17) while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody was a lawful permanent resident of the United States, ICE said in a statement on Monday — a day after The Texas Tribune first reported his death. Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias was found unconscious in his bed at the Rio Grande Processing Center in Laredo on Saturday morning; ICE said staff performed chest compressions and called emergency services, but he was declared dead about 20 minutes after being found unresponsive. He had been in immigration detention since June, and his death is the seventh in ICE custody in Texas this year, according to the Tribune's reporting and detention-death trackers.

ICE said Andrade-Covarrubias was detained on June 26 as he returned to Texas from Mexico at a port of entry in Laredo, because officers believed he had obtained his legal status fraudulently by allegedly failing to disclose a 2004 arrest for theft during the review process. The agency said he was in removal proceedings before an immigration judge, with a hearing due on November 2, according to online records. His daughter, Estefani Andrade, disputes the agency's account: she told the Tribune her father did raise his criminal record during the application process — and that immigration officials approved his green card application anyway. That dispute has not been resolved in court.

The family also alleges he was denied care in detention — an allegation, not a finding. Estefani Andrade told the Tribune her father arrived with medications for a heart condition, diabetes and high blood pressure, and that staff would not give him those medications; that he developed a cough — worrying because he had been hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2021 — told her he had trouble breathing and chest tightness, sought medical help and, in her account, was ignored; and that he had visibly lost weight on video calls. ICE says the opposite on care: the agency said he received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals. His cause of death is still unknown, with the autopsy pending at the Webb County Medical Examiner's Office.

Andrade-Covarrubias lived in Dallas for decades, worked as a contractor painting apartments and townhomes, and was the father of three adult children, all U.S. citizens. He had been travelling back and forth to Mexico while building a house there. His daughter said the family was not contacted by any federal agency and learned of his death through the medical examiner; U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar had confirmed the death to the Tribune. The family planned to go to the facility on Monday to collect his belongings.

The Rio Grande Processing Center is operated by GEO Group under contract with ICE, and his is the second death in a Laredo-area ICE facility this year, after 63-year-old Felix Alcorta-Rodriguez was found unresponsive at the Webb County Detention Center in June, according to the Tribune's reporting. Lawmakers and the family are seeking answers about the medical care provided before his death; no official cause has been released.

Sources: The Texas Tribune (reporting by Colleen DeGuzman, Alex Nguyen and Uriel J. García, republished by the San Antonio Current and US Border News); ICE statement issued Monday, October 19, as reported by those outlets; National Immigration Project / Detention Watch Network detention-death tracker. Family statements about medication and care are allegations; ICE disputes them, and the cause of death has not been determined.